Sony And TSMC Reportedly Joining Forces To Tackle Chip Shortage With Japan’s Help

Japanese tech company Sony and Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC may be joining forces to help tackle the ongoing global chip shortage, according to reports published independently by Reuters and Nikkei. It is said that both companies are considering a partnership to co-establish a new semiconductor factory in Japan, which is expected to be up and running by 2024.

People familiar with the matter told the publications that the new plant will be based at a Sony-owned location in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture, close to the company’s own image sensor factory (shown above). The project is said to cost US$7 billion in investment from both Sony and TSMC, with half of it reportedly covered by the Japanese government. The new factory will be managed by the Taiwanese semiconductor giant, the sources added.

Reuters and Nikkei reports that the plant would manufacture chips for cameras, cars and other purposes – all of which have recently seen a drop in production capacity due to the ongoing shortage. Both Sony and TSMC declined to comment regarding this potential partnership when approached by the publications. Meanwhile, Nikkei believes that Japanese automotive parts manufacturer Denso is also interested in the project.

If accurate, the new factory by Sony and TSMC would definitely contribute to other efforts that are also aiming to ramp up the manufacturing of semiconductors. However, it will still take some time until it is able to help with the production, seeing that the plant will only be operational in 2024. Moreover, Sony and TSMC themselves – as well as other major companies such as IBM and Foxconn – have noted that the chip shortage will likely continue for another few years until the strong demand for semiconductors could be met.

#BenderaPutih Movement Urges Those Who Require Assistance To Signal For Help

The #BenderaPutih (white flag) movement is currently making rounds among social media users in Malaysia and has brought a lot of attention to the plight of those who have been badly affected by the ongoing lockdown. While its origin is rather unclear, the idea by the movement is rather simple: by flying a white flag or cloth outside their homes, those who needed assistance in terms of food supply and daily necessities can be found by others in the area.

There have been growing reports indicated that many Malaysians are facing difficulties because of the near-total and indefinite closure of the economy due to the lockdown which would remain until daily COVID-19 cases drop to below the 4,000 mark. Supporters of the movement have emphasised that waving a white flag should not be interpreted in its traditional sense of indicating defeat or surrender, but to view it purely as a means to signal their need for support.

As its message spreads to more netizens, the #BenderaPutih hashtag is leading Twitter’s trending chart in Malaysia as of 3:22 PM today. The movement appears to be similar in nature to the #KitaJagaKita movement, which gained traction briefly at the start of the pandemic last year but later lost momentum after being co-opted by the government, seemingly in an attempt to absolve themselves from widespread criticism.

Since it began in March, the Ministry of Health has used the hashtag in tweets dozens of times, even though the hashtag was often used to criticise the government’s handling of the pandemic. The movement was also appropriated by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul, Minister of International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali, and Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, just to name a few. Even backbencher government MPs such as Ahmad Maslan frequently use the hashtag to praise the government.

Hanna Alkaf, who is credited for starting #KitaJagaKita, has rebuked politicians who try inserting themselves into the rakyat’s movement and expressed the same for #BenderaPutih as well. After all, Minister Zuraida is already trying to ride on the trending hashtag and naturally, this has immediately attracted criticism from the netizens.

Google To Launch AI Tool That Can Help Identify Skin Problems Via Phone Camera

Are you a little worried about a rash on your arm or leg? At its annual developer conference I/O, Google announced that it intends to launch later this year an AI-powered tool that can help identify skin problems just through pictures taken by a smartphone camera.

According to Google, once launched, the tool will require you to take three pictures of the skin, hair or nail issue from different angles. Then you’ll be asked questions about your skin type, duration of the issue (how long you’ve had it), and other symptoms that will help the tool narrow down the possibilities.

The AI model crunches all this information and draws from its database of 288 conditions to provide you a list of possible matching conditions. Every matched condition will come with dermatologist-reviewed information and answers to frequently asked questions, along with similar matching pictures from the web.

However, Google said the tool isn’t meant to provide a formal diagnosis or replace professional medical advice as many conditions require review by doctor, in-person examination, or additional testing like a biopsy. That being said, the tech giant also pointed out that two billion people worldwide suffer from dermatologic (skin) issues while specialists are in short supply.

The company described the tool as the culmination of over three years of machine learning research and product development. It uses many of the same techniques that detect diabetic eye disease or lung cancer in CT scans.

Google Launches Mantap Bersama Initiative To Help Small Businesses In Malaysia

Google Malaysia has launched an initiative called Mantap Bersama to help small businesses across the country in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to help them build a digital presence on Google’s own search engine and Maps.

To that end, Google is asking the Malaysian public to chip in by reviewing and rating these businesses on the Google ecosystem. It’s essentially a crowdsourcing campaign aimed at raising the profile and credibility of small businesses.

The tech giant said there are four ways people can participate in the #MantapBersama initiative this Raya. Firstly, they can search (through the Google search engine) for products and services near them and discover a new small business. Secondly, they can write helpful Google reviews of small businesses.

Thirdly, they can share pictures of the business – for example, adding photos of the special Ramadan dish they ordered from a restaurant. And lastly and obviously, they can buy from small businesses, ensuring they (the businesses) have funds to support their employees.

To promote awareness of #MantapBersama, Google enlisting the help of three YouTube content creators who are small business owners themselves. They are Ili Sulaiman, celebrity chef and founder of Ili Pot; Fadhil Mohamad Isa (also known as Cardock), former newsreader turned YouTube creator who founded Cardock Academy; and Chef Kalidevan Murugaya (popularly known as Chef Dave), former cruise chef and vegan lifestyle advocate who started D’Vegan Academy.

The three will be promoting small businesses meaningful to them on their respective social media accounts, highlighting why these businesses mean so much to them and tagging others to share reviews.

Microsoft Requests Help From AMD To Cope With Xbox Series X and S Shortage

Microsoft has had supply shortage problem with the Xbox Series X and S for some time. The company is doing its best to meet the demand, but has also approached AMD to speed up chip production.

AMD not just only in charge of producing GPU and CPU for both Xbox and PlayStation, the company has also got its hands full with manufacturing its own GPU. Xbox head Phil Spencer also said he got on the phone with AMD CEO Lisa recently about the matter.

In this case, Microsoft is not alone. The same problem of supply shortage also happens to Sony too, since the PS5 uses a similar chip as the Xbox Series X does. The supply issue could also last until at least April

Shortage of the chip supply is not the only problem that the consoles are facing. Another is the issue of scalpers who used the bots to buy the consoles. Later they would resell them to make a profit.